The German economy organizes itself in 81 regional the Chambers of Commerce and industrie (IHK) and their controlling body German industrie and Chamber of Commerce day (DIHK).

Interests and tasks

The IHKs represents the interest of its associated enterprises as solely responsible public bodies in relation to municipalities, federal state governments and regional national places. They fulfill the following tasks for their respective region:

• Lobby of the regional economy
• Safety device of the fair competition
• Monitoring and promotion of the vocational training after the vocational training law
• Service for the member enterprises.

In contrast to other organizations of the economy the IHK organization represents the economic common interest. The Chambers of Commerce and industrie have a democratic structure and by the economy are operated, whereby the enterprises are subject to a legal membership. 3,6 million commercial enterprises are members of the IHKs. That makes the IHK organization independent of single interests and creates a special weight opposite political instances. The Chambers of Commerce and industrie fulfill the among other things following tasks in their chamber districts:

• Location politics (influencing control on planning processes as for instance land development and statements on wide retail trade settlements, economic situation reporting, city marketing)
• Starting and enterprise promotion (business startup consultation, follow-up consultation, execution of founder days, care of existence founder and firm data bases)
• Out and further training (out and training further consultation, execution of training further and examinations, development of out and training further concepts)
• Innovation and environment (innovation and conveyance consultation, care of technology and recycling stock exchanges and data bases)
• Internationally (exhibition of certificates of origin and Carnets, execution of land days, external trade trainings, delegation journeys as well as fair participation abroad, business partner switching)
• Quite and fair Play (right information, pursuit of competition offences, order of expert, leading a debtor list)

Critical voices

Chambers of Commerce and industrie are bodies of the public right. They exercise state-sovereign functions of the administration, whose kind and control are regulated by the law for the provisional regulation of the right industrie and of the Chambers of Commerce (IHKG).

The IHKG originates from the year 1956. Against the obligation membership embodied in it organized themselves 1996 some manufacturing ones in the association of the IHK Verweigerer registered association, which try since then to amend the obligation membership into a freiwillige membership. This opinion too own some politicians made themselves, for example the Member of the Bundestag Johannes Kahrs (SPD) as well as parts of the youth organization of the FDP.

Double membership

Some enterprises are both member of the IHK and the chamber of trade, so-called mixing processes. This is caused usually by the fact that the crafts enterprises (part of A and partial B of the appendix to the HwO) have a commercial transaction. The obligation to pay contribution to the IHK is bound with mixing processes to a turnover lower bound. Handicraft-similar mixing processes (in part of B of the appendix to the HwO) belong only in principle the IHK, outweigh the handicraft-similar division, are present a double membership.

One finds also double memberships rarer with farmers or other occupations of chamber, who operate commercial transactions.

Similar organizations abroad

The chamber of economics Austria notices the tasks industrie and of the Chambers of Commerce in Austria. There is an obligation membership also there.

Kind of member and fields in other countries are among other things in the print 13/1664 of the federal state parliament of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

See also

• Federal association of the German industry (BDI)
• Industry
• Economics
• International Chamber of Commerce
• Chamber of engineers
• Chamber of trade

Related links

• Official Website of the IHK
• Association of the chamber critics
• IHK Frankfurt/Main: Demarcation to the handicraft
• Approximate height of the contribution to prof. organizations by the example IHK Pfalz (xls)
• Print 13/1664 of the federal state parliament German Federal Armed Forces (pdf)

Articles in category "Chamber of Commerce and industrie"

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